Friday, November 6, 2009

In our 4 years leading mission teams with Royal Servants, I have completed different levels of training. My experience level has now reached the point of being able to pursue a wide variety of team locations. This is very exciting!

Next summer, I will be leading a missions team to Sierra Leone, Africa! Sierra Leone is located in West Africa and has huge physical and spiritual needs. About 70% of the people are Muslim and it is the 7th poorest country in the world (out of 194 countries). We are honored and humbled to be able to minister to those in deep spiritual and physical poverty.

Though Jenni and I have been to Africa several times, Sierra Leone will be a place that holds new challenges, and tons of awesome ministry opportunities! This February, I’m planning to take a research/vision trip to Sierra Leone in order to secure the team ministry and logistical details. Please pray for us as we recruit a team of students/ staff and prepare for this new exciting location!

“God is a father to the fatherless… He sets the lonely in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell.” Psalms 68:5-6

Over 10 years ago I was deeply impacted by an article I read on adopting orphans. The article was titled, “A Father to the Fatherless.”

Though I did not know it at the time, God was planting the seed in my heart—to one day adopt an orphan baby. That article and title have always stuck with me as I have had the opportunity to minister amongst orphans around the word.

Jenni first remembers the desire to adopt while serving in a Haitian orphanage at the young age of 14. For the next several years Jenni served on numerous mission trips having many opportunities to serve in orphanages and among children living on the streets.

Together we have come to believe that God is indeed calling us to provide a loving home for one of these precious children. And we are thrilled how God is opening the doors for us to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia!

Please join with us in prayer as we are in the process of finalizing the paperwork.

This year, God has been working in particularly dramatic ways in our lives. We practically just stand back in amazement and watch to see what He will do next! He is an awesome God who is filled with mystery, wisdom and power. He owes us nothing, yet He gives us everything we need.

There was the day we received notice about discontinued financial support from a significant long standing church donor. Then there was the day we realized God was calling us to look into becoming missionaries in the UK. And then came the day He made it clear we are not now to move to the UK, but instead to be found faithful right exactly where He has us. Mixed in with it all has been our heart to start an adoption and how all these things have played into that decision. It has by no means been a dull year of ministry for the Halseth family! We want to end by sharing a quote we recently read from Desiring God Ministries which has spoken to us:

“Much of the Christian life is spent trusting Jesus now and understanding him later. Jesus typically does not feel it necessary to explain on the front-end why he is doing something the way he is doing it… Our understanding his purposes in a particular providence tends to be not as important to God as our trust in his character. So together let’s continue to “trust in the Lord with all our heart, and… not lean on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5). Because one day we will understand. And we will, with great joy, proclaim, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalms 145:17)

Thanks for praying and hanging in there with us through thick and thin. We are so incredibly grateful for all your love and encouragement!

After much prayer it has become clear that at this point in time, God is not leading us to serve in the UK. We definitely had excitement about the possibility to serve full-time overseas. However, we are EVEN MORE excited about the way the Lord has CLEARLY answered us!

He has shown us and given us a heart to continue WHOLE-HEARTEDLY in the ministry He already has us in! For a long time it was not a clear or simple choice; we feel it really could have gone either way. But eventually God was so faithful to make it clear that He wants us right where we are.

We are not moving overseas right now, but we do know that God had his purposes in our pursuit of this possibility. He has revealed to us on a deeper level the heart He has for ALL the peoples on the earth. We are also more deeply united as a couple in our continued growing desire to serve in whatever role He calls us to – here or anywhere.

Moving overseas at a future date is not out of the question, but not in the immediate future. Our vision to reach the world for Christ through our current position with Royal Servants has been confirmed and affirmed via friends, colleagues and prayer partners. Thank you so much for praying for us as we considered this move!

Please pray for us as we prepare for our mission to Sierra Leone. Pray God would be drawing students to join us in reaching out to this country for Jesus.

Thanks for praying for us as we considered a move overseas. We are thankful for a clear answer from the Lord—to remain faithful where he has us in MN!

Pray for us as we are finalizing adoption paperwork. Pray God would meet us throughout the process this next year.

CHURCH SUPPORT—Thank you to many of you who have been praying for us in regards to a major supporting church who discontinued their support due to some changes in the church. While we are still official missionaries receiving prayer support, we currently do not receive financial support from them. Please pray as you feel led, and also join us in trusting prayer to see God re-raise up these funds.